Transportation boarding system using geotagging and mobile devices

Abstract

Methods and systems for bus boarding use geotags that are generated when a mobile device of a bus passenger passes in proximity to embark gates and disembark gates installed in buses of a bus system. The mobile device may be registered with a customer information database of the bus system and may provide a bus passenger identifier to identify the bus passenger at a time and a location when embark geotags and disembark geotags for a bus trip are generated. The embark and disembark geotags may be used to charge the bus passenger for the bus trip.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for bus boarding, comprising:
 detecting, at an embark gate of a first bus, a physical indicator that a passenger is boarding the first bus at a first time corresponding to a first location of the first bus;   receiving, at the embark gate, a bus passenger identifier from a mobile device associated with the passenger;   using the first location, the first time, and the bus passenger identifier, generating an embark geotag for the passenger;   receiving, at a disembark gate of the first bus, the bus passenger identifier from the mobile device at a second time corresponding to a second location of the first bus;   using the second location, the second time, and the bus passenger identifier, generating a disembark geotag for the passenger; and   based on the embark geotag and the disembark geotag, charging the passenger for bus fare corresponding to a bus trip on the first bus between the first location and the second location.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 storing the embark geotag and the disembark geotag in a customer information database for a bus system operating a plurality of buses, including the first bus.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 validating that the mobile device is registered with the customer information database; and   when the mobile device is not registered with the customer information database, generating a passenger alarm after the physical indicator is detected.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the physical indicator is a weight measurement at the embark gate, and further comprising:
 after detecting the physical indicator, when the bus passenger identifier is not received at the embark gate within a predetermined delay, generating a passenger alarm.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the bus passenger identifier is received wirelessly from the mobile device, and wherein location information for a geotag is received from the mobile device. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 prior to charging the passenger, confirming that the bus trip coincides in location and time with a path taken by the first bus.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 responsive to a request from the mobile device, sending information associated with the bus trip to the mobile device.   
     
     
         8 . A mobile device for bus boarding, comprising:
 a processor having access to memory media, the memory media storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:   detect an embark gate of a bus in proximity to the mobile device;   send, to the embark gate at a first time, a bus passenger identifier associated with a user of the mobile device;   detect a disembark gate of the bus in proximity to the mobile device; and   send, to the disembark gate at a second time, the bus passenger identifier, wherein the bus passenger identifier is registered with a customer information database of a bus system operating the bus.   
     
     
         9 . The mobile device of  claim 8 , further comprising instructions to:
 record the first time and a first location associated with the instructions to send the bus passenger identifier to the embark gate; and   record the second time and a second location associated with the instructions to send the bus passenger identifier to the disembark gate.   
     
     
         10 . The mobile device of  claim 8 , further comprising instructions to:
 receive, from the customer information database, a confirmation of a bus trip between the first time and the second time.   
     
     
         11 . The mobile device of  claim 10 , further comprising instructions to:
 receive, from the customer information database, a confirmation of a fare charge for the bus trip.   
     
     
         12 . The mobile device of  claim 8 , further comprising instructions to:
 register the mobile device with the customer information database, including instructions to receive the bus passenger identifier.   
     
     
         13 . A method for bus boarding, comprising:
 detecting, at an embark gate of a first bus, a physical indicator that a passenger is boarding the bus at a first time corresponding to a first location of the bus;   sending a bus passenger identifier to the embark gate from a mobile device associated with the passenger;   responsive to receiving the bus passenger identifier via the embark gate and using the first location, the first time, and the bus passenger identifier, generating, at a customer information database associated with a bus system, an embark geotag for the passenger;   sending the bus passenger identifier to a disembark gate of the first bus from the mobile device at a second time corresponding to a second location of the first bus;   responsive to receiving the bus passenger identifier via the disembark gate and using the second location, the second time, and the bus passenger identifier, generating, at the customer information database, a disembark geotag for the passenger; and   based on the embark geotag and the disembark geotag, charging the passenger for bus fare corresponding to a bus trip on the first bus between the first location and the second location.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 registering the mobile device with the customer information database, including generating the bus passenger identifier; and   sending the bus passenger identifier to the mobile device.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 storing the embark geotag and the disembark geotag in the customer information database, wherein the bus system operates a plurality of buses, including the first bus.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 validating that the mobile device is registered with the customer information database; and   when the mobile device is not registered with the customer information database, generating a passenger alarm.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the physical indicator is a weight measurement at the embark gate, and further comprising:
 after detecting the physical indicator, when the bus passenger identifier is not received at the embark gate within a predetermined delay, generating a passenger alarm.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein mobile device wirelessly sends the bus passenger identifier, and further comprising:
 sending location information for a geotag by the mobile device.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 prior to charging the passenger, confirming that the bus trip coincides in location and time with a path taken by the first bus.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 sending a request from the mobile device for details of the bus trip; and   responsive to the request from the mobile device, sending, from the customer information database, information associated with the bus trip to the mobile device.